


Charity Case

by Kymopoleia



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Human AU, Implied abuse, M/M, don't ask me anything lmao it's old
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-27
Updated: 2016-02-27
Packaged: 2018-05-23 11:01:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6114463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kymopoleia/pseuds/Kymopoleia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dan Masters simply wasn't known for his charity work.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Charity Case

Dan Masters simply wasn’t known for his charity work.

He donated a large portion of money to various organizations, spoke out on causes he believed in and spoke for people he felt embodied those beliefs and against people who he felt had wronged him or disrespected those beliefs. His words never got far, and he never spoke often enough for people to actually recognize him, but that didn’t matter.

Honestly, the man wasn’t known for much of anything. He was Vlad Master’s nephew, and as long as he didn’t do anything stupid or immoral, he could stay out of public view. Sure, some managed to track him down and stalk him with clever snapshots from phone cameras and long-distance cameras, but he had never actually made it to the front page or headline of anything.

He was private, making money through the stock market on his own in a reasonably small apartment in the pocket-sized town of Dawsbury, an hour away from Amity Park and a million years away from anyone even relatively famous. He was the king of reigning in urges. He had been taught by his uncle, one of the best, and he’d never once done something odd enough to even make him come up in stranger’s conversation other than stay off the radar.

Until one night, that is.

Dan had found himself at the neighborhood CVS at three in the morning, a basket and his coat draped over one arm. It was late September, but it was already dipping down into the thirties and forties by the time the sun went down around this time of year. With the shorter buildings and more spread out layout of a small town, Dawsbury got cold quick and the townspeople could hardly keep up or step outside without needing to quickly duck back inside.

So, seeing a teen shivering in the children’s aisle of the CVS, a backpack over one shoulder and a duffel bag on the ground, was quite the shock.

Dan didn’t know what came over him, but standing there, watching the teen shift his eyes between one shelf and the next, rubbing his hands together and taking deep breaths, he felt like doing something… charitable. Was that the right word for it? It had to be.

“Do you have someplace to stay tonight?” He asks, interrupting the teen’s thought process.

“Um, e-excuse me?” The teen mumbles, turning to him. Dan notices that he has light brown eyes accompanying the tanned skin and strands of blonde hair poking out of the sides of his cap. He has a straight nose and strong eyebrows, and a pair of lips that Dan imagines some would die for. He looks like he wouldn’t be out of place as an extra in a surf movie, or a side character in a football movie, but the bruise near his left temple, the split lip, and the way he’s fidgeting say other things. That and the fact that he’s clearly not dressed for the cold, a red and white varsity jacket buttoned all the way up, a thin scarf and a pair of jeans being his only protection from the oncoming winter.

“I asked if you had a place to go.” Dan rephrases. “Or were you planning on standing there until it gets really cold, when all the people start to come out?”

“I’m. Um. I’m good. Sir.” The teen nods, looking away. Dan notices then that he has a conspicuous hand-shaped bruise under the scarf.

“Really? Then what’s up with the bags? The store clerks look worried, kid.”

“I’m not a kid!” The teen snaps, then winces and wraps his arms around himself. “I’m sorry sir, I’m fine, really. Just… Just passing through.”

“And even if it’s a small town, we do have a motel. If you’d like, I can drive you there?” Dan jerks his thumb behind him, wondering why he’s bothering. It’s not as if he has an obligation, some reason to do this. He just felt like doing something charitable. The offer was charity enough, right?

“I um. I don’t have money for a motel.” The kid admits, looking sheepish and nervous, as if he were worried that Dan would call the police on him or something like that. “I’m just going to be here two days, three maybe, and then I’ll be gone.”

“And where will you sleep?” Dan asks.

“Um. I don’t need to?”

Dan tsks. “Come with me, I’ll buy you a drink and you can sleep at my place for the night. I won’t be nosy, and you can lock and block the door if you’re worried I’ll try something.”

The teen furrows his eyebrows. “I’m um, not actually able to drink. I’m eighteen.”

“I meant like chocolate milk or something, god no.” Dan rolls his eyes. “The liquor in this town is terrible, I always import.”

The teen takes a long minute to decide before picking up his duffel and looking anywhere but Dan’s face. “Thanks, sir.”

Dan takes him to the drink aisle and the teen grabs an Arizona tea. He watches him for a moment, then hums thoughtfully.

At the noise, the teen’s eyes snap up to him. “Something wrong?”

“No. What’s your name?”

“Um… Dash. It’s Dash.” The teen seems to spend a long time thinking before giving the name, and Dan is sure it isn’t his real one.

“My name is Dan.” He smiles and offers the teen a hand to shake.

It takes the teen, Dash, a moment of shuffling to get a hand free, but when he does, his handshake is quick and loose, as if he’s trying to not touch Dan too long and is preparing to run at the first sign of trouble.


End file.
